Combined bridle-front and winker-brace



(No Model.)

0; RUF. GOMBINED BRIDLE FRONT AND WINKBR BRAGB;

No. 544,829. Patented Aug 20, 1895.

g yfl/iiaitmses. ,8 @m w UNITE STATES 1 OTTO RUF, OF LOS 'ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

COM BINED B RlDLE-FR- ONT AND WlNKER-BRACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,829, dated August 20, 1 895. Application filed March 29,1295. Serial No. 643,639. (No model.)

f0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it knownthat I, OTTO RUE, a citizen of m the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improved Oombined Bridle-Front and Winker- Brace, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is designed, to provide in the harness and leather industry a long-wanted improvement,viz.: a practical and ornamental part for making a bridle hold its shape.

I am aware of the front band and winkerbrace shown byL. J. Knauss and G. W. Hinkle in United States Patent No. 299,806, patented June 3, 1884, in which the winkerbrace is provided with abillet formed integral therewith; and I am also aware of the browband and winker-brace shown in United States Patent to O. A. Harmstead, No. 348,207, patented August 31, 1886, in which the browband and winker-brace are made integral;

but in each of these appliances there isin the middle of the leather winker-brace a flat portion which renders the leather brace liable to buckle or bend at the middle unless reinforced. Harmstead overcomes this liability by means of an additional strengtheningplate applied on the inner or under side of the winker-brace and brow-band. I wish to avoid the use of this extra plate. At the junction of each of the round side members of the brace with the flat portion andwith such stiEening-plate there is necessarily an unevenness or roughness, caused bythe ends of the seams of such round side members. I wish to avoid this. 111 the Knauss and Hinkle device the brow-bandis made separate from the winker-brace and its billet and is provided on its under side with a rubber strap fastened to it by rivets and metallic plates or fastenings. I wish to avoid the use of such. In their appliance there is no means for preventing the winker-brace from bending at the places where its round side members join the billet. I wish to supply a. desirable brace at this point. I am also aware of the winkerbrace and bridle-front shown in United States Patent to C. O. Schwaner, No. 473,022, patented April 19,1892, inwhich the winkerbrace is made round continuously from end to end; but in that patent the winker-braoe is connected with the brow-band by a metal buckle which forms a projection which Iwish to avoid. My invention is designed to be an improvement overall of these patented devices.

By my improvement the back of the bridlefront "and winker-brace is continuous and uniform from end to end and is smooth, and the bridle-front lies smoothly around the horses forehead, and the winker-brace is adapted to always hold the winkers orblinders exactly in the right position.

My improvement also includes in a single part a complete connection, by which the winkers or blinders, the bridle-front, and the crown-piece are braced by each other and held in their true position.

My invention relates to that class of devices which consist in abricllefront and winker-brace virtually made in one piece.

One object of my invention'is to provide a device of this kindin which the winker-brace is round continuous from one endto theother and devoid of any breaks or weak places, thus securing a more ornamental appearance and also holding the winkers or blinders more rigidly in exact position.

Another object is to provide an improved brow-piece for monograms, coat of arms, or other ornaments.

Another object of my invention is to com- .bine in a single manufactured part a bridlefront, Winker-brace, and a billet to buckle into the crown-piece of the bridle.

Another object is to make a combined bridle-front and winker-brace smooth throughout on the under side. I accomplish the objects of my invention and overcome the said difficulties and objections pertaining to former manufactures by making the bridle-front strapof one piece with the body of the winker-brace and making such winker-brace round from end to end; and my invention comprises a combination bridle-front and winker brace in which the strap of the bridle-front is of one piece with the body of the winker-brace, and in which the winkerrbrace is round from end to end virtually.

Inmyinvention as illustrated the bridlefront strap is fiat andthe round winker-brace is formed of the leather integral with such ICO ' and winker-brace.

strap and continuous therewith at the middle and bent forward to form the round, so that at the middle of my appliance the winkerbrace projects forward at the lower edge of the bridle-front to form the round, and provides a brace at that point, while the rear or under face of the appliance is smooth.

My invention also comprises other details and features,hereinafterset forth and claimed.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved combined bridle-front and winkerbrace provided with center front billet for attachment with the crown-piece. Fig. 2 is a fragmental vertical mid-section of the same on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a view of the back or under side of a bridle-front and winkerbrace without such billet. Fig. a is a front view of the same with the brace bent. v Fig. 5 is a vertical mid-section on line 5 5, Figs. 3 and 4-, on a larger scale. Fig. 6 is a fragmental plan of a piece of leather ready to be formed into the winker-brace and the back or lower part of the bridle-front shown in Figs. 3 and 4. .In this view the finished side of the leather-the under side of the bridlefrontis in view. Fig. 7 shows the same piece of leather turned over with the unfinished leather-the front side of the bridlet'ront strapin sight, (except the loop at the left of the view,) the winker-brace filling in place, and the winker-brace strap bent and fitted to the filling ready for stitching. The left bridle-front loop is formed and the right end of the bridle-front strap is shaved, as in Fig. 6, ready to be bent to form the rightl'oop. Fig. 8 shows, incomplete, another form with billet. In this view the winker-brace is completed, the bridle-front strap is lappedat the ends to form the bridle-front loops, and the billet-strap is pasted in place. This billet is of an economical pattern. Fig 9 shows a billet-strap which could be substituted for the one shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 shows one form of the top or bridle-front waved layer for use with billet. This may be made either of harness-leather, patent-leather, or other suitable material. This waved layer is designed to cover the lap of the ends of the bridle-front strap where they are bent over to form the front loops, and it also gives stiffness to the bridle-front. The top piece for the bridle-front may be of metal plate or chain, if desired, but I prefer to make the same of leather and attach it to the bridle-front by plain or ornamental stitching. The top piece may also be ornamented by metal ornaments or by ornamental letters, coat of arms, &c., in which case the ornaments or letters would preferably be fastened to the top piece before it is stitched to the lower part.

I will now describe the manner of manufacturing my improvement. First I cut out a piece of leather (see Fig.6) of the right length and width for forming the bridle-front The length and width of this piece of leather will vary according to the bridle to be made. The width of bridlefront will vary from one-half an inch up.

WVith a three-quarter inch front the whole Width of the piece of leather would be one and one-half inches. The widths may vary, however, to suit the style of the harness. Two slits a a are then made, extending from the opposite ends of the pieceof leather to within two inches of each other, thus leaving at the middle of the bridle-front strap A thus formed, and at its lower edge, a bridge or connection 1) connecting the bridle-front strap A with the winker-brace strap B. The ends of the bridle-front strap are shaved to form the front loops. The next step is to channel the winker-brace strap B with the channels 1' 2 3 on the finished side of the leather. The channels 1 2 extend from opposite the ends of the slits a a, respectively, to near the ends, respectively, of the winker-brace strap B, but not extending to the ends of the brace-strap, for the reason that when the brace is completed the ends thereof are to be flat to fasten to the winkers or blinders. The channel 3 extends along the lower edge of the winkerbrace strap from end to end of the part that is designed to be round. Fig. 6 illustrates the piece of leather at this stage of manufacture. The next step is to turn the straps with the unfinished side up, as shown in Fig. 7, and to bend the winker-brace strap longitudinally to receive the filling O, the length of which is equal to the desired length of the round portion of the brace. The brace is then stitched from the front side, the stitches d running along the channels from end to end and passing through the bridge I), which is not channeled, for the reason that the work will be stronger without channelling the bridge. The next step is to trim and blacken the winker-brace and run it through the rounder. In doing this,however, the rounder will only run up to the inner ends of the slits a a, and the brace along the bridge or middle piece Z2 is then rounded with a hand roundfinisher. The nextstep is to bend the rounded brace into the proper curve while it is yet wet. In bending the brace it must be twisted sufficiently to bring the flat ends 6 6 into the right position to fit the blinders. Then the bridle-front strap and brace are allowed to dry. The winker-brace is now round from one attachment end e to the other e, and has the desired curve forward and downward from the front strap A. The next step is to lap and paste the front loops 4: 5 at the ends of the bridle-front strap, the same being looped over toward the unfinished side of the'leather, as indicated in Fig. 7, by the loop 4. The next step is to fasten the bridle-front top or layer F in place on the bridle-front to cover the laps of the loops and to stiffen the bridlefront. The top or layer F, if made of leather, should be reinforced on the under side to make an oval raise and to give -stiffness to the bridle, and also to increase its ornamental ap- IIO pearance. The manner of doing this and stitching the work is well understood and needs no description here. 6 in- Fig. 2 and 6' in Fig. 5 indicate the reinforcing-strip.

In case the bridle-front is to be provided with a center front billet to connect with the crown-piece, as is preferred in some kinds of bridles, to give greater strength and rigidity and a more ornamental appearance and to furnish a front on which to fasten ornaments, then the bridle-front strap is provided at its middle 0n the upper edge with a slight projection 7, as indicated in Fig. 8, and such strap and projection are shaved and the billet-strap G is shaved at its lower end, which is made broad to fit the shape of the center ornament or waved billet-layer or top piece f. In Fig. 8 the billet-strap is shown split and filled with a wedge g for economy of leather. The billet-strap is then pasted and sewed in place and covered with the top piece or waved layer F, provided with the waved billet-layer f. The top or layer F f is fastened in place by being stitched to the bridle-front and to the billet-strap.

The winker-brace, made in the manner described, being round from one fiat attachmentend e to the other e, gives superior stiffness and also a more ornamental appearance to the bridle. The single part thus composed of the winker-brace, the bridle-front, and the center front billet gives to a bridle superior strength and rigidity, and makes it hold its shape. The billet thus attached also serves for the attachment of ornaments,'letters, or coat of arms.

Since the outside of theround winkerbrace is formed of the leather integral with the bridle-front strap and continuous therewith at the middle and bent forward, where it joins the lower edge of the bridle-front, and there formed round, as well as throughout the rest of its length, the winker-brace at the middle of the appliance constitutes an outweirdly-projecting bridle-front bracing-rib, While the rear or under face of the appliance is smooth.

The single bridle-front which I have produced, composed of the bridle-front, the winker-brace, round from end to end, fixed to the lower edge of the bridle-front, the center front billet-strap spliced to the bridlefront and projecting from the rear edge thereof, and the bridle-front and billet top fastened to the billet and bridle-front strap, constitutes a new part for forming a bridle, and can be manufactured separately and carried in stock to sell to harness-makers to be used in their trade.

Now, having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination set forth of the bridle front strap, the winker brace filling, the Winker brace strap united to the bridle front strap at the middle by the bridge and bent around the filling and stitched from end to end substantially as described.

2. The combination set forth of the bridle front strap; the winker brace filling; the

winker brace strap united to the bridle front strap at the middle and bent around the filling and stitched from end to end; the center front billet fastened to the bridle front strap, and the bridle front and billet top'fastened to the billet and bridle front strap.

OTTO RUF.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. TOWNSEND,

ALFRED I. TOWNSEND. 

